Stable fabrication of a large nanopore by controlled dielectric breakdown in a high-pH solution for the detection of various-sized molecules

For nanopore sensing of various-sized molecules with high sensitivity, the size of the nanopore should be adjusted according to the size of each target molecule. For solid-state nanopores, a simple and inexpensive nanopore fabrication method utilizing dielectric breakdown of a membrane is widely use...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Scientific reports 2019-09, Vol.9 (1), p.13143-15, Article 13143
Main Authors: Yanagi, Itaru, Akahori, Rena, Takeda, Ken-ichi
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
639/925/357/995
639/925/927/1058
639/925/927/356
639/925/927/59
Biological Transport
Deoxyribonucleic acid
DNA
DNA - chemistry
DNA - metabolism
Fabrication
Humanities and Social Sciences
Hydrogen-Ion Concentration
Membranes, Artificial
Microscopy, Electron, Transmission
multidisciplinary
Nanopores
Nanostructures - chemistry
Nanostructures - ultrastructure
Nanotechnology - methods
pH effects
Porosity
Science
Science (multidisciplinary)
Silicon Dioxide - chemistry
Streptavidin
Streptavidin - chemistry
Streptavidin - metabolism
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Summary:For nanopore sensing of various-sized molecules with high sensitivity, the size of the nanopore should be adjusted according to the size of each target molecule. For solid-state nanopores, a simple and inexpensive nanopore fabrication method utilizing dielectric breakdown of a membrane is widely used. This method is suitable for fabricating a small nanopore. However, it suffers two serious problems when attempting to fabricate a large nanopore: the generation of multiple nanopores and the non-opening failure of a nanopore. In this study, we found that nanopore fabrication by dielectric breakdown of a SiN membrane under high-pH conditions (pH ≥ 11.3) could overcome these two problems and enabled the formation of a single large nanopore up to 40 nm in diameter within one minute. Moreover, the ionic-current blockades derived from streptavidin-labelled and non-labelled DNA passing through the fabricated nanopore were clearly distinguished. The current blockades caused by streptavidin-labelled DNA could be identified even when its concentration is 1% of the total DNA.
ISSN:2045-2322
2045-2322
DOI:10.1038/s41598-019-49622-y